History Fridge / ThePhantomOfTheOpera

** In the 25th anniversary production, it's heavily implied that Christine realizes that it's the Phantom when he touches her chest. Piangi was very likely given much tamer stage directions to avoid any unprofessionalism and to not anger his lover Carlotta, who already hates Christine. He starts off touching Christine in a regular 'stage' manner, hovering his hands over her while looking as if he's touching her, but is unable to resist the temptation and begins actually touching her. What does the Phantom in is when Christine appears to accidentally feel the mask under his hood while performing, and tries to run, only for him to grab her and pull her back. But the show must go on - they pass it off as normal acting very convincingly for the in-universe audience, up until Erik's unmasked.

** In the 25th anniversary production, it's heavily implied that Christine realizes that it's the Phantom quickly when he begins sensually caressing her and even touching her chest, causing her to bolt, as Piangi was very likely given much tamer stage directions to avoid any unprofessionalism and to not anger his lover Carlotta, who already hates Christine. What does the Phantom in is when Christine appears to accidentally feel the mask under his hood while performing, and tries to run, only for him to grab her and pull her back. But the show must go on - they pass it off as normal acting very convincingly for the in-universe audience, up until Erik's unmasked.

* A common criticism that people have with Point of No Return is asking how Christine (or anyone in the theater) can possibly be surprised when she pulls off "Piangi's" hood to reveal the Phantom. After all, Piangi is almost always played with an Italian accent. The difference is even more jarring in the case of Norm Lews, an African-American Phantom, impersonating a Caucasian Piangi, although in some performances Christine seems to realize it's the Phantom when he takes off his gloves. However, in the 25th Anniversary production, careful listeners will notice that Ramin Karimloo is singing with a very convincing Italian accent, making it more believable that he can pull off the deception.

** In the 25th anniversary production, it's heavily implied that Christine realizes that it's the Phantom quickly when he begins sensually caressing her and even touching her chest, causing her to bolt, as Piangi was very likely given much tamer stage directions to avoid any unprofessionalism and to not anger his lover Carlotta, who already hates Christine. However, the show must go on and she resumes acting. What does the Phantom in is when Christine appears to accidentally feel the mask under his hood while performing, and tries to run, only for him to grab her and pull her back - all clear warning signs that it's not Piangi.

* A common criticism that people have with Point of No Return is asking how Christine (or anyone in the theater) can possibly be surprised when she pulls off "Piangi's" hood to reveal the Phantom. After all, Piangi is almost always played with an Italian accent. The difference is even more jarring in the case of Norm Lews, an African-American Phantom, impersonating a Caucasian Piangi, although in some performances Christine seems to realize it's the Phantom when he takes off his gloves. However, in the 25th Anniversary production, careful listeners will notice that Ramin Karimloo is singing with an Italian accent, making it more believable that he can pull off the deception.

* Listen to the first "Notes" and "Prima Donna." There are so many clashing melodies--the managers, La Carlotta, and Raoul. Everyone's off doing their own thing: La Carlotta is spewing hatred at Christine, the managers are pondering how to spin these developments to their own advantage, and Raoul is trying to piece together the details of Christine's story. The Phantom can only do what he does when everyone is at odds with each other.

* It totally makes sense that Raoul beats the Phantom at swordfighting. Not only is Raoul younger, but he also has plenty of opportunities to practice with live sparring partners. Phantom... not so much.

* ''Is there the Phantom of the Opera?'' sung by Christine while being accompanied by the said Phantom might indeed sound odd at first, but there are actually at least four possible meanings here: 1) Most obviously, just as in the novel, Christine's still uncertain of the reality of the entire incident to begin with. ''Do I dream again?'' 2) She could still be unsure that the man leading her was that very Phantom everybody'd been talking about, as he as yet did little to confirm it apart from, well, just having joined in the ''Phantom of the Opera'' song she herself had begun; 3) She figured out that there is no ''phantom'' at all - only a ''man'' of flesh and blood; 4) She might be talking about the image or rather ''myth'' of the Phantom created by the opera folks. Is he really as brutal, immoral and, well, hideous as they say?

** That explains something about the musical I always had a problem with; the Phantom [[HypnotizeThePrincess seemingly luring Christine by the power of his voice, only being broken when Raoul shows up]]. ''Wishing You Were Somehow Here Again'' shows something about Christine that has just been hinted at through the musical. She misses her father and when Erik says that he's her Angel of Music, it's as a connection to her late father, which is a GeniusBonus for people who have read the book, as it's made clear Christine only knew her father for a huge chunk of her young life. Right before the graveyard sequence, Christine has been threatened, stalked, harassed and has just now been proposed as bait to catch said murdering creep...by the one person who has promised to protect her from the Phantom. That's a lot of emotion for anybody to endure and she wants to feel safe again. At least in the illusion, she has her father back. Raoul breaks the illusion by stressing that "[the Phantom] is not [her] father," - something Christine should have realized and come to terms with much, much earlier.

* ''Is there the Phantom of the Opera?'' sung by Christine while being accompanied by the said Phantom might indeed sound odd at first, but there are actually at least four possible meanings here: 1) Most obviously, just as in the novel, Christine's still uncertain of the reality of the entire incident to begin with. ''Do I dream again?'' 2) She could still be unsure that the man leading her was that very Phantom everybody'd been talking about, as he as yet did little to confirm it apart from, well, just having joined in the ''Phantom of the Opera'' song she herself had begun; 3) She figured out that there is no ''phantom'' at all - only a ''man'' of flesh and blood; 4) She might be talking about the image or rather ''myth'' of the Phantom created by the opera people. Is he really as brutal and immoral as they say?

* ''Is there the Phantom of the Opera?'' sung by Christine while being accompanied by the said Phantom might indeed sound odd at first, but there are actually at least four possible meanings here: 1) Most obviously, she could still unsure that the man leading her was that very Phantom everybody'd been talking about, as he as yet did little to confirm it apart from, well, just having joined in the ''Phantom of the Opera'' song she herself had begun; 2) She figured out that there is no ''phantom'' at all - only a ''man'' of flesh and blood; 3) She might be talking about the image or rather ''myth'' of the Phantom created by the opera people. Is he really as brutal and immoral as they say? 4) Finally, the "inside my mind" line clues us in that, just as in the novel, Christine is uncertain of the reality of the entire incident to begin with. Maybe she's just dreaming?

* ''Is there the Phantom of the Opera?'' sung by Christine while being accompanied by the said Phantom might indeed sound odd at first, but there are actually at least three possible meanings here: 1) Most obviously, she could still unsure that the man leading her was that very Phantom everybody'd been talking about, as he as yet did little to confirm it apart from, well, just having joined in the ''Phantom of the Opera'' song she herself had begun; 2) She figured out that there is no ''phantom'' at all - only a ''man'' of flesh and blood; 3) She might be talking about the image or rather ''myth'' of the Phantom created by the opera people. Is he really as brutal and immoral as they say?

* ''Is there the Phantom of the Opera?'' sung by Christine while being accompanied by the said Phantom might indeed sound odd at first, but there are actually at least three possible meanings here: 1) She's still unsure that the man leading her is that very Phantom everybody's been talking about, as he as yet did little to confirm it aside from joining in the song about the Phantom she herself had begun; 2) She figured out that there is no ''phantom'' at all - only a ''man'' of flesh and blood; 3) She might be talking about the image or rather ''myth'' of the Phantom created by the opera people. Is he really as brutal and immoral as they say?

* ''Is there the Phantom of the Opera?'' sung by Christine while being accompanied by the said Phantom might indeed sound odd at first, but there are actually at least three possible meanings here: 1) She's still unsure that the man leading her is that very Phantom everybody's been talking about, as he as yet did little to confirm it aside from joining in the song about the Phantom she herself began; 2)She figured out that there is no ''phantom'' at all - only a ''man'' of flesh and blood; 3) She might be talking about the image or rather ''myth'' of the Phantom created by the opera people. Is he really as brutal and immoral as they say?

** Creator/AndrewLloydWebber actually cast Gerard Butler as Erik for that precise reason. He quips: "He's got to be a bit rough, a bit dangerous; not a conventional singer. Christine is attracted to the Phantom because he's the right side of danger." - Mugiwara
* Carlotta's attitude towards Christine starts to make a little bit more sense in that she secretly realizes she's either past her prime or reaching it and here comes this chorus girl who's suddenly threatening the only job she knows within the theater. Factor that this was a time period in which unless you had a rich family to draw wealth from if you only knew one job and were forced to find another, you were pretty screwed. While it doesn't excuse it,it does help explain her hostile attitude.
** And keep in mind, as far as Carlotta knows Christine only got the part because she was sleeping with the theater's patron (and mysteriously disappeared the night he showed up...) That's why she goes after Raoul in "Notes" -- she thinks she's being replaced because of the CastingCouch, and well, wouldn't you be angry too?
* It's most noticeable in the 25th anniversary addition,but Meg seems to be the first to panic whenever the Phantom might be near. Which I thought odd until I remembered both she and Madame Giry know the Phantom exists, and Madame Giry probably used him to frighten Meg into good behavior in her youth.

* A minor thing that recently made quite a bit of sense. During the second "Notes" recitative, The Phantom mentions that Piangi should "Lose some weight, it's not healthy in a man of (Piangi's) age..." It seems like a cheap dig at the current 1st Tenor until you realize that he wants Piangi to drop the weight '''to better impersonate him later!'''

* A common criticism that people have with Point of No Return is asking how Christine (or anyone in the theater) can possibly be surprised when she pulls off "Piangi's" hood to reveal the Phantom. After all, Piangi is almost always played with an Italian accent. The difference is even more jarring in the case of Norm Lews, an African-American Phantom, impersonating a Caucasian Piangi. However, in the 25th Anniversary production, careful listeners will notice that Ramin Karimloo is singing with an Italian accent, making it more believable that he can pull off the deception.

* In the musical, the Phantom's opera 'Don Juan Triumphant' is written in a style that mirrors a musical movement of the early twentieth century known as "Modernism" which began a good two or three decades after the events of POTO. In addition to the dissonant orchestrations and harmonies, it's extremely dramatic, dark, and focuses a great deal on emotion, all of which are thematic trademarks of modernistic musical and literary works. The characters' disgusted and confused reactions to 'Don Juan' intentionally mirror the public's reactions to early modern pieces such as Stravinsky's ballet 'The Rite of Spring'. This stylistic choice is probably a way of presenting the Phantom as a man who is quite literally ahead of his time in his artistic genius.

* It's worth noting that Christine's decision to stay with Erik comes after she's made two very important discoveries; He will never hurt her in any other way (Erik tells not her but Raoul so).

* I always enjoyed the [[DarkReprise "Point of No Return" trio]] in the final lair scene of ThePhantomOfTheOpera, but it just hit me that the song is very appropriate in that context because all three characters involved -- the Phantom, Christine, and Raoul -- are passing a "point of no return" in some sense. For the Phantom, it's the MoralEventHorizon he crossed by threatening to kill Raoul. For Christine, it's the knowledge that she has to choose between saving herself or her fiancé. For Raoul, it's the willingness to risk his own life for Christine's freedom. Brilliant. - Toru771

* It's worth noting that Christine's decision to stay with Erik comes after she's made two very important discoveries; A) He is physically incapable of raping her and B) He will never hurt her in any other way (Erik tells not her but Raoul so).

** AndrewLloydWebber actually cast Gerard Butler as Erik for that precise reason. He quips: "He's got to be a bit rough, a bit dangerous; not a conventional singer. Christine is attracted to the Phantom because he's the right side of danger." - Mugiwara